This situation is tricky. It might take a while.

  I’ll be here. Good luck. I miss you.

  He tried to focus on his dad’s problems during the two-plus hour drive from the Denver airport to the Albany County jail, but his body screamed with every mile that he was headed in the wrong direction. Every part of him wanted Madison.

  Thankfully, he had his father sprung by suppertime. Since he’d worked a half-dozen years with the sheriff’s department, he knew almost everyone in town, including the coroner and the DA, so he’d been able to talk to the deputies assigned to the case. Because the sheriff had once relied on him to help solve homicides, Matt pointed out discrepancies in their case that made it next to impossible for his father to have killed Nicole Hall, age thirty two—a mere two fucking years older than Matt himself. They’d listened. Still, he understood their suspicion. After nearly three months of witnesses swearing his father had verbally abused her, not to mention a series of screaming matches the cops had been forced to break up, every law enforcement officer in the county thought Dad had finally lost his temper and offed his girlfriend.

  After another week, Matt finally made enough people see reason that the DA dropped the murder charges to involuntary manslaughter, then gave up altogether because he didn’t have a winnable case. Finally, Matt could return to Lafayette.

  But should he? He knew the answer. Dad’s near brush with a murder trial should be a potent reminder.

  Problem was, Matt didn’t want to stay away. He’d been trying. Madison had texted a few times in the past week. It had taken all his restraint, but he hadn’t responded. What the hell could he say? What kind of promises could he possibly make?

  The night before he left Wyoming, Matt sat at the same speckled linoleum kitchen table his mother had picked out when he was a kid, nursing a cup of after-dinner coffee when his father grabbed a mug and sat across from him.

  “Thanks for all your help, son. I couldn’t have made it through this without you. If you hadn’t stepped in and done your thing, that crooked DA would have let me go down for killing Nicole just to say he got a conviction.”

  The asshole would have at least tried because the Montgomerys were regarded as nothing but white trash in this town. “It’s over. You can help yourself by doing what you promised me before I left home last time and staying single, figure out why you keep gravitating to these destructive relationships.”

  “I did. I was alone for two weeks after you’d gone.”

  “Two whole weeks?”

  “I don’t need your sarcasm.” Dad frowned. “You have to understand… Nicole seemed stronger. I thought she was.”

  Matt grappled for patience. “She’s eighteen years younger than you. From everything I’ve heard over the last week, she was emotional, needy, and fragile.”

  Just the way Dad liked his women.

  “Aren’t most of them?”

  “No.” He’d met plenty of women who had backbone and grit. Trees’s bride, Laila, came to mind. She was a realist and a survivor. A fighter. “You have a type.”

  After Madison, isn’t it clear you do, too?

  Not that she was weak, but during their days together, her emotions constantly bubbled just under her surface. Once he’d dug and hit the wellspring, he’d felt how much she needed him—his attention, his praise, his touch. After he’d ripped away the barrier of her clothes and torn down the walls between them, he’d found her beautiful heart. Because she’d been hurt, it was fragile, like a foal testing its legs for the first time. And he’d enjoyed the power of knowing that, in their moments together, he alone had kept her upright.

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t make me a bad person,” his dad argued. “We fought, sure, but—”

  “A lot, from what I hear.”

  “You know when I go all-in on something, I go hard. I thought Nicole was special. I saw us having a future together.”

  “So what happened, really? Not the BS you told the police.”

  Dad sighed. “Her sister was trying to convince her to move back home to Denver. Apparently, they’d been talking about it for a while, she said.”

  Matt understood now. “And when she talked about leaving, you couldn’t stand the thought she might do you like Mom, so you crawled inside her head and tore her down—”

  “I reminded her of all the reasons she left Denver and her manipulative sister in the first place. Then we argued. I walked away before either of us said things we couldn’t take back to give her time to think—”

  “Meaning you used her feelings against her to get what you wanted. When she resisted, you withheld attention and affection because you knew it would make her weak. Am I wrong?”

  He shifted in his seat. “It’s not like that.”

  Matt leaned in. “It’s exactly like that. I’ve seen you work women over my whole life. I know how you operate.”

  “That’s not true,” his dad blustered.

  “Yeah? Was Nicole crying the last time you saw her?”

  “Women do that.”

  “Because you drive them to it. This is your MO, Dad. You find a pretty face, one who’s younger and vulnerable. You charm her and take her to bed. You undo her with sex. You crawl in her head, and you start digging for her weaknesses. Once you find them, you exploit every single one unmercifully until she’s willing to do anything to prove herself to you—bow, scrape, kiss your feet, suck your cock in public—”

  “You heard about that?” He paled.

  “With both Andrea and Laurel, yeah. You make these women crazy and desperate for your love and approval. Of course, you give them enough to keep them hooked while you turn them inside out until they beg and plead and cry and—”

  “They like it.”

  “Yeah, Nicole obviously did,” he snapped back. “You’ll be fifty in two months. Grow up and stop playing head games. Settle down. Find some peace.”

  “I know what you think of me, son. You’ve made it clear. But can you look me in the eye and tell me you’re any better?”

  Before his weekend with Madison, absolutely. Now… He wasn’t proud of the way he’d treated her, but he’d give almost anything to have her in his grip again—except risk her. “As usual, you’ve made a ton of excuses and taken zero accountability. I’ll be leaving shortly after dawn to catch my flight back to Louisiana. If you need anything before then, I’ll be in my room. But I think we’ve already said it all. You’re just not listening.”

  Matt emptied the last of his coffee, plunked his cup in the sink, then headed down the hall, shutting the door behind him. The urge to call Madison and tell her he was returning to Lafayette was overwhelming. He harnessed the impulse by unloading on the punching bag that had been dangling in the corner of his room since high school. But a sweaty hour later, he still wasn’t sure how to curb his compulsions to pleasure her in the most deviantly delicious ways he could think of—and how not to turn into his dad.

  Until he did, he had no business even talking to her. It nearly killed him, but when she texted him again that night, asking if everything was all right and if he was still speaking to her, he darkened his phone without reply, showered while drowning in regret, then fell into a fitful sleep, praying he’d think of a miracle cure tomorrow.

  Chapter Five

  June 19

  Madison closed the lid on her suitcase with a dejected sigh and glanced at her phone charging on the cradle in the middle of her nightstand. Eleven days, and still no calls or replies from Matt. Just silence.

  She needed to face the fact that he’d played her, just like every other man she’d ever given a few hours and her body to. As usual, she’d put herself out there, only to get burned. But her flippant summation didn’t feel like the whole story. Matt had seemed so different. For thirty-six hours, he’d been her sustenance, her air, her everything. He had affected her in ways she had never fathomed, in places that no man had truly touched. He couldn’t be gone, just…poof, could he? After she had clearly stirred more than his body, too, she didn’t understand.

  What had gone wrong?

  Her mobile rang, jerking her from her maudlin thoughts. The initial skipping of her heart with hope that Matt was finally calling died when she saw Haisley’s name on her display.

  “Hey, girl.” She tried to sound chipper and just couldn’t manage it.

  “Aww, still moping?”

  Mourning was a better word, but Haisley didn’t understand. She probably never would. For her, men came and went. She didn’t get attached. Her heart didn’t trip up or hit an emotional snag. Guys were universally attracted to the audacious redhead with the loud personality. In her shadow, Madison always felt quiet and far less interesting.

  She sidestepped the question. “What are you up to?”

  “Gracelyn and I are heading to Highrise’s for a few drinks. Come with us. You passed last Saturday night and you’ll be gone on this trip with your dad for the next couple of weeks. I’ve hardly seen you, and I’m having Madison withdrawals. What’s a girl without her bestie?”

  Tears filled her eyes. “As sweet as that speech was, guilt-trip and all—”

  “You noticed that, huh?”

  Madison scoffed. “Please. You’ve been my best friend since first grade. I know you. But Dad is insisting we get on the road at five a.m. He wants to tour Graceland and hopefully make it to Knoxville by nightfall.”

  “Five a.m.? Doesn’t he know the leaves are barely rustling at five a.m., much less people?”

  Despite her sadness, she had to laugh. “He’s up. That’s all that matters to him.”

  “It’s barbaric, if you ask me.” Haisley sighed. “So nothing from Matt? Where did you two leave things?”

  At the question, pain stabbed through her chest. She’d known the moment he opened his eyes that final morning that something troubled him. When she’d asked if he was okay, he’d dismissed her, hiding behind his coffee cup and his worry about her being late for work.

  “We left the suite around six thirty. He kissed me in the parking lot.” Like he would die without her. Like he never wanted to leave her side. He’d clung and stared at her as if she meant the whole world to him. “He told me that he’d be hella busy while Trees was on his honeymoon, but he swore he would call. The next day, he texted, saying he had to help his dad back home, but that’s been almost two weeks ago. Since then, nothing. I’ve tried a couple of times, but…” She shrugged. “I really shouldn’t be surprised. Men always ghost me.”

  And despite the fact so many guys took what they wanted and walked away, Matt had shocked her. Because even if something had been bothering him, he hadn’t seemed like all the others. They had connected on a level she’d never experienced.

  “You deserve a guy who loves you for you, and I don’t know if he’s it.” Haisley sighed. “I ran into Nash last night.”

  The tall groomsman from the wedding? “Were you at Highrise or another club?”

  She laughed. “The grocery store. Apparently, he’s decided to stay in town and was buying food to fill his new bachelor pad. We chatted in the frozen aisle.”

  “He’s still trying, even though you turned him down at the wedding?”

  “Yep, and trying hard. But he corroborated that Matt headed back to Wyoming to help his dad the day after you parted. He also told me Matt came back to town on Tuesday.”

  There was a reason Haisley hadn’t led with that morsel, and Madison didn’t want false hope. “Four days ago, and he still hasn’t called.”

  “Nash says Matt helped him move into a rental on Wednesday. He also says your cowboy hasn’t been the same that weekend with you.”

  “Well, if he’s madly in love with me, he’s doing a damn fine job hiding it. I need to put him behind me. Find my mojo and my self-confidence and kick off my summer vacation with this trip. I’ll enjoy some time with my dad, visit my uncle, see the sights, then come back. I’ll have forgotten Matt Montgomery exists.”

  Madison was determined to do just that…but he lingered in her memories and in her heart. As she and her father drove from Lafayette, she mentally pored over every moment she’d spent with Matt, trying to decide where things had gone wrong. But nothing made sense. They had been immersed in each other and perfectly in sync until the final handful of hours.

  Five days later, she was still struggling. They had toured Elvis’s home, seen lots of live music in Nashville, taken in the barbecue in Knoxville, toured some Kentucky whiskey distilleries, visited the Appomattox Court House Historical Park, wended toward Richmond, then hugged the Potomac heading north before making it into Washington, DC. She tried her best to focus on all the new sites and this alone time with her dad. He needed it now that his protracted divorce from her stepmom of five years was final and the woman had fucked off to Portland.

  When they arrived in DC, Dad’s older brother, Uncle Martin, welcomed them with open arms. After VIP tours of the Smithsonian and most of the local landmarks, he’d suggested she think about joining his staff since it paid better than teaching and offered more upward mobility. Next, he’d insisted that she attend a benefit gala with him to see how she liked the people she’d be rubbing elbows with if she accepted the job.

  Ten minutes into the grand affair, she’d met Todd Pershing, the senior senator’s grandson. He had taken to her immediately, setting her at ease. He’d danced with her, made her laugh, fed her dessert when no one was looking, then invited her to sail with him the very next day.

  Nine days after she’d arrived in DC and following a handful of dates with Todd, who seemed attentive, surprisingly easy to talk to, and eager to see more of her, her phone finally rang just before bedtime. She glanced at the screen, expecting him or Haisley to be calling.

  Matt’s name filled her display. Her heart stopped.

  He was finally calling, almost a month after turning her inside out and nearly bringing her to her knees. After making her foolish heart flutter with hope and possibilities for the future? Now, he wanted to talk?

  Madison reclined against the headboard, curled her knees to her chest, and stared at the device, wondering whether she should answer or make him wait, like she had. On the final ring before the call rolled to voicemail, she picked up. She wanted to know why he had finally chosen to call more than she wanted to punish him.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Madison. Sorry it’s been a while.”

  She didn’t want to be impacted by the sound of his voice. She didn’t want to remember the way they’d shared pleasure, secrets, and themselves in the dark. His call proved she didn’t always get what she wanted.

  “It has.” She had no intention of making this pleasant or easy for him.

  “My dad had a…friend who committed suicide in his house, which almost got him in hot water with the cops.”

  “Oh, my god. I’m so sorry for him.”

  “Thanks. It was…a lot. He was freaked out. It’s been rough.”

  For his father, absolutely. Madison’s heart went out to the man for both his loss and his legal troubles. But that didn’t absolve Matt, because she knew he had been in town for weeks and just never bothered to call. “I’m sure he struggled.”

  “Yeah. I’m not calling to give you excuses.”

  “Then why are you? Do you need someone to talk to?”

  “No. I just need to see you. I need”—he paused—“you. Can you come over? I know it’s last minute. I know you might be out with your girls or… But I moved into my rental house, so I’ve got a bed and a sofa now.” His joke fell flat, and his laugh sounded hollow.

  Fury burned her. After waiting four weeks to connect with her, he wasn’t explaining or apologizing or saying anything that might have mitigated how used and discarded she’d felt. Nope. He’d picked up the phone for a booty call.

  The sex between them had been ungodly good. She wouldn’t deny that. But she refused to sacrifice what was left of her pride to spread her legs for a guy who only called when he wanted a piece of ass. She’d never done the friends-with-benefits thing before because she had self-respect and a good vibrator. She wasn’t changing her mind for him now.

  “Actually, I’m in Washington, DC, on vacation with my dad.”

  “Oh.” He sounded both surprised and distressed. “I didn’t realize you’d left town. Are you coming back soon?”

  “Originally, I was supposed to be home the day after tomorrow, but I might stay permanently. I’ve been offered a job here. And since I arrived, I’ve been seeing someone. He’s attentive and adoring and everything I could have asked for.” She probably sounded a little petty, but didn’t he deserve it?

  “Wow.” He blew out a breath. “I haven’t even thought about anyone except you in the last month, but…okay. Sure.”

  Wait. He’d assumed she would wait around for him? Without any communication? And was trying to make her feel guilty because she hadn’t? No. Absolutely not. He wasn’t pinning this on her. “I had no idea what you were thinking, since we haven’t talked. I appreciate the invitation to come over tonight and…whatever, but—”

  “You’re staying in DC, huh?”

  She hadn’t given her dad a decision yet. Her suitcase was packed, and she’d been ninety percent sure she would leave here with him come morning and resume her uneventful life in Lafayette. But the job her uncle had offered her was a definite pay raise from teaching kindergarten. While she loved her students, she’d get to work on an education council, actually forming young childhood education metrics for the entire country—an opportunity she’d never even imagined she’d be afforded.

  Then there was Todd. He seemed like everything Matt wasn’t—uncomplicated, happy for her company, and totally smitten. Granted, he’d only given her tepid kisses so far, and those hadn’t been very inspiring, but if they both invested in the relationship, they would grow together as a couple, right?

  “I’m still thinking, but I might,” she finally answered Matt. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she would rush home because he snapped his fingers.